Chapter 17: Come with me or stay here?
A drop of ink dripped from the tip of the pen onto the memorial.
Jiang Hui repeated, "The old lady said that the second lady had made a mistake and must kneel in the ancestral hall for three days. No food can be brought to her without her permission."
Rong Jianxue frowned, lowered her head and twirled the Buddhist beads on her wrist, without saying a word.
Seeing this, Jiang Hui said cautiously, "How about... I tell the old lady to have Hongyao bring some food to the Second Lady?"
"If you do something wrong, you should be punished," Rong Jianxue picked up her pen and continued writing. "Mother is not someone who doesn't know her limits. You should just scare her. Don't take it seriously."
"I heard from the servants in the mansion that the old lady often punished the Second Lady by making her kneel in the ancestral hall for three days. It seems that the Second Lady had also kneeled in the ancestral hall before..."
Rong Jianxue pursed her lips and gave Jiang Hui a cold look.
Jiang Hui shut up, lowered his head and dared not say anything more.
"She should learn her lesson. Her every word and action represents the reputation of the Rong family."
His fingertips subconsciously stroked the gold-plated Sanskrit on the Buddhist beads. Rong Jianxue said nothing more and just asked Jiang Hui to leave.
The sun had not yet set outside. Rong Jianxue was working at her desk sorting out memorials and asked Jiang Hui to close the door.
--
Rong family ancestral hall.
Pei Jingxu knelt in front of the tablets again.
She had experienced this kind of scene countless times in the past year.
Rong was in charge of the inner house. If she did anything that displeased her, she would always find an excuse to make her kneel in the ancestral hall.
The Rong family was a prominent and scholarly family, so the Rong family didn't dare to really use their fists or feet on her. The only way to discipline her, and the only punishment that was justified in doing so, was to make her kneel in the ancestral hall.
Pei Jingxu straightened his back and took a look at the sky outside.
The sun sets.
Calculating the time, she should have been kneeling for two hours.
The weather was not good and it started raining heavily outside again.
Thick clouds hang low, and the rain is murky and cold.
"Second Madam, just kneel here. Don't blame the old lady for being cruel. Blame yourself for not following the rules and bringing shame to the Rong family!"
The old woman beside him put on a thick coat and stood behind Pei Jingxu, mocking him.
Pei Jingxu took a deep breath, faced the tablet, and said nothing.
"Humph, you're so brave, you actually dare to talk back to the old lady."
Because Nanny Wang was kicked out of the Rong Mansion for disrespecting her master, the new maid was obviously much more restrained when she satirized Pei Jingxu.
"Second Madam, don't you see? This is the Rong Residence. Everyone in the Rong Residence is the old lady's people. Who would believe your nonsense?"
"The old lady also said, don't even think about going to the eldest master to complain. You broke the rules today. The eldest master is the most strict about rules. Even if he came, he wouldn't help you!"
"Hmph, I don't know where you got the idea from, but you actually wanted the support of the eldest son. No matter what, although the eldest son is not the old lady's biological son, he has been filial and thoughtful since childhood. How could he possibly side with an outsider like you!"
“…”
The old woman's voice was not small, but it was washed away by the rain.
The doors of the ancestral hall were wide open, and the cold wind of the rainy night pierced Pei Jingxu's bones like needles. Pei Jingxu shrank his neck and his lips turned pale.
Even if it means gambling with his life, Pei Jingxu must sit at the gambling table.
The cold rain mixed with lightning and thunder, and the annoying night seemed to swallow people up.
The candlelight in the ancestral hall flickered twice and finally went out with the whistling wind.
The light in the ancestral hall suddenly went out, and it became pitch black, accompanied by terrifying thunder and lightning in the night sky, which was very scary.
"What are you standing there for? Second Madam, why don't you go and light the candles?"
The old woman straightened her clothes and said in a bluffing tone.
Pei Jingxu frowned slightly. She slowly stood up, walked to the numerous tablets, took a tinderbox and went to light the candles.
After trying several times, the light was blown out by the wind. Pei Jingxu had to block the wind with his hand and try again.
The hot wax dripped onto Pei Jingxu's fingertips. She let out a soft cry and her beautiful brows wrinkled into a ball.
"It's just wax, why are you making such a fuss, Madam?"
The old woman was startled, took a deep breath, and continued to guard.
It was completely dark.
The rain washed the courtyard clean, and the wind grew stronger, blowing all the rain into the ancestral hall and splashing on Pei Jingxu's back.
It's getting colder.
Pei Jingxu bit her lip slightly. She actually had a high fever, probably because she was frightened by the murder scene she saw.
However, she couldn't faint.
The silver hairpin pierced her fingertips, and Pei Jingxu bit the tip of her tongue to stay awake.
There was a thunderstorm outside. Pei Jingxu was exhausted both physically and mentally, but he still kept calculating the time.
It was late at night and she had been kneeling for three hours.
With his consciousness blurred, Pei Jingxu forced himself to stand straight and face the tablet.
She wants to win.
She has to win.
--
East Courtyard Study.
Another thunderclap sounded. Rong Jianxue frowned and pursed her lips before finally shouting to the outside, "Jiang Hui."
The door opened, and Jiang Hui came in with his umbrella folded: "Sir."
"What time is it?"
"My lord, it's already 1:01 a.m."
After putting away the paper and pen, Rong Jianxue stood up and walked out of the study.
Seeing this, Jiang Hui held up his umbrella and followed him: "Sir, would you like to go back to the bedroom and rest?"
"Um."
Rong Jianxue responded without any emotion and walked towards the bedroom.
The wind was so strong that even though Jiang Hui was a martial artist, he still found it a little difficult to hold up the umbrella.
Another thunder fell!
"Boom—"
With a loud bang, the gloomy night sky was illuminated into daytime!
Rong Jianxue frowned, and finally, he took the umbrella from Jiang Hui's hand and walked in the opposite direction of the bedroom.
"Hey? Where are you going, sir?!"
Jiang Hui didn't react in time and hurriedly followed.
--
Hongyao brought a thick coat and was stopped outside the ancestral hall by the old woman.
"Mammy! I was just covering the girl with a piece of clothing. She has a high fever and can't let herself get cold!"
The old woman said angrily, "The old lady said that no one can enter without her order! Go back!"
Hongyao was about to cry, holding her clothes in her arms: "Girl! Girl, are you okay?"
Pei Jingxu no longer had the strength to answer.
She felt like she was holding a piece of ice, but her body was burning hot.
She gritted her teeth and cruelly stabbed her fingertips with the hairpin. If you look closely, you can see that her dress is stained with blood.
Pei Jingxu looked pale and dazed.
She clenched her hands tightly, and her petite body swayed like floating duckweed.
"Boom—"
There were bursts of muffled thunder.
Pei Jingxu actually heard the sound of quiet footsteps in the noisy rainy night.
It got closer and closer, and finally stopped outside the ancestral hall.
The sound of rain washed away many other voices, but Pei Jingxu still heard them. He held an umbrella and spoke in a cold and indifferent tone, "Tell mother that I've taken Pei back. If you blame her, blame me."
Pei Jingxu propped herself up and lowered her head until the pair of priceless cloud boots appeared in her sight.
"Stay here, or come with me?"
Above her head, Rong Jianxue's voice was cold and calm, as if she was just giving her a choice.
Pei Jingxu opened his mouth, but found that his mouth was dry and he couldn't say a word for a while.
Rong Jianxue stood tall and graceful, lowering her eyes to glance at Pei Jingxu.
He was still holding the umbrella in his hand. Seeing that she didn't answer, he didn't say another word and started to leave.
But the next second, a force from behind grabbed his wide sleeve.
Rong Jianxue barely stopped.
Behind him, the woman tightened her grip and said in a hoarse voice, "A Xu, please follow the adults..."
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